Missouri Football: Effects of Suspended QB and OL

By John Richardson | Sep 29, 2015

Missouri football will have unexpectedly have a new starter this Saturday. It was announced Tuesday that junior quarterback Maty Mauk will not play Saturday “for disciplinary reasons related to violation of team policies,” according to kansascity.com. In addition, junior offensive lineman Malik Cuellar is also suspended for the game. The future for both is uncertain, as their status is set to be “evaluated after the game.”

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Of the two losses, Mauk’s hurts tremendously more. Quality offensive lineman are hard to come by, but kansascity.com reports that Ceullar (a JuCo transfer) no longer even appears on the two deep chart for the Tigers.

Mauk, however, has been the main quarterback and leader of the Tigers for the past three seasons. Though he has lost large parts of his receiving corps for consecutive years and his numbers have been anything but stellar, losing your quarterback is never an easy loss to overcome.

Mauk has only completed 51.8 percent of his passes for 654 yards, 6 touchdown and four interceptions. He has been more successful using his feet, though, as he is second on the team in rushing (145 yards, 36 carries). He is also responsible for the team’s sole rushing touchdown this year.

While the offensive line rotation will not be altered, a new quarterback must be inserted. After looking up the depth chart, it certainly appears that responsiblity will fall on freshman Drew Lock.

Sep 26, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel coaches his team during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half at Commonwealth Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

According to 247sports, Lock was a 4 start pro-style quarterback coming out of high school. He was the #1 player from the state of Missouri and 7th ranked pro style quarterback out of high school in 2014.

In limited time this season, Lock has completed 15 of 25 passes for 225 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He has not been much of a threat with his legs thus far, which certainly will be a departure for the Missouri offense after having spent the past 3 seasons with a very mobile quarterback who looks to run early and often.

Missouri plays South Carolina this Saturday and this will continue to be an interesting story that we will update as we gain more information.

Next: Best and Worst SEC Football Performances from Week 4

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